Rusch Park’s outside public bathrooms have reopened.

 

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Rusch Park’s outside public bathrooms officially “flushed” in the year, reopening after being closed since last February due to repeated vandalism incidents.

Sunrise Parks and Recreation District (SRPD) Parks and Facilities Superintendent Wayne Edmundson announced the facility’s reopening, saying he “greatly appreciated” the public’s patience and understanding during the nearly year-long closure due to the failure of a pair of sewer ejector discharge pumps.

Three temporary portable toilets in front of the restroom facility since last February have been removed.

“We’ll be ready for a more frequent number of park visitors this spring and summer who have had to adjust to this temporary closure,” Edmundson said.

A full system analysis at the time of the restroom’s closure last February found that the sewer ejector discharge system needed an upgraded power supply and the pumps needed to be replaced and upgraded to higher horsepower and capabilities.

“The sewer ejector discharge pumps were upgraded to much larger capacity to avoid clogging in the future when things like clothes and other foreign objects are flushed down men’s and women’s toilets,” Edmundson said.

Estimated yearly repair and replacement costs previously incurred by the Sunrise Parks and Recreation District caused by vandalism to the bathroom facilities at Rusch Park had averaged approximately $5,000 a year before the recent repairs were completed, Edmundson added.

The outdoor public restrooms, which opened in August 2002, are located adjacent to the craft program building directly behind its administration building parking lot.

Except for restrooms specifically used inside the gated pool area, there is only one public restroom facility on the east side of the park, where a basketball court, two playgrounds and a covered picnic area are located.

During weekday hours, park users could also use the public restrooms in the main administration building when it was open.

The electrical contractor, Garrahan Electric Inc. of Rancho Cordova, which had accepted the bid to complete the project, converted the upgraded pumps from single phase to three-phase electrical power for better efficiency.

Sunrise Parks and Recreation District had previously retrofitted the restroom interiors by replacing all the porcelain fixtures (sinks and toilets) with stainless-steel models at a renovation cost of more than $10,000.

Sunrise Parks and Recreation District opened the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the project out for bid last April but the district initially received no qualifying bids. Edmundson said he and his staff then “refined the scope” of the restroom repair project. Garrahan Electric Inc. of Rancho Cordova was the winning bidder.

Because of the required timeline of the contract bidding process, which included pre-bid walk-throughs by contractors, a review of submitted contract bids, among other steps, the temporary outside bathroom closure stretched to the end of 2024, Edmundson said.

The restroom building has been a frequent target of vandalism, and in the past few years, the park district has spent “a small fortune” trying to keep the facility operational, he said.

“The cost of a single “service call” can cost as much as $2,500 or more, and depending on reoccurrence,” Edmundson said in an earlier interview.

“We are hoping the public will continue to do their part in helping to keep our public bathrooms in Rusch Park clean and report incidents of vandalism to us promptly,” Edmundson said.